How Hockey Has Changed My Life

Since the age of five sports have been my life. I have played just about every sport; basketball, baseball, soccer, football, lacrosse, and hockey. There have been numerous takeaways from playing all of these sports through out my life that have shaped me to be the individual that I am today. First sport I ever played was soccer and I was more of a fan of running around the field and not giving a care in the world to the soccer ball, so turns out that sport was not for me. Next sport up, basketball, this sport was a little bit easier for me due to the sole fact that I was taller than everyone else at the age of five. I stayed with this sport for roughly two seasons. One day while shooting hockey pucks in the drive way at age six was the day my life changed for the better, I decided to trade out my cleats
High school is where I learned that mind over matter is a real thing. Two weeks before tryouts for the hockey team I broke my foot in a lacrosse game so for my high school tryout “mind over matter” skated on a broken foot. The next year, my sophomore season, I took a hard hit and after I could not breathe or really move the right side of my body. Later to find out I had dislocated a rib, later as in sticking out the rest of the game with not being able to breath. Junior year I suffered another injury (this story is kind of interesting to say the least) my team was playing a friendly game against a team from Memphis. Towards the end of the game I hit a guy and the second I hit him my arm went limp, I lost feelling in my hand, and could not move my shoulder. Told our trainer what happened and how I was feeling. I will never forget what he said “Close your eyes and you may feel some pain.” After having my shoulder put back in I was back out on the ice trying to tough it out then with five minutes left hit a kid and got to redo the process all over